BUILT WORK . smartCenter
site: Aristocrat Motors: Merriam, Kansas

program description:
Cafe . Lounge . Showroom . Sales . Automobile Stacker

The smartCar dealership represents my first completed architectural project. The dealership was a remodel of an existing cafe lounge which had been serving Arisocrat Motors’ Mercedes-Benz dealership.

The project was designed while I was employed at Gould Evans Associates in the summer of 2007 and took approximately 6 weeks from the design development stage to the final completion of the 100% construction documents. While the prototypical smartCar dealership is extremely generic, we strove to create a design that would break away from the typical white box store that smart is known for. We kept the ceiling exposed and hung display lights from the rafters allowing for a much more open and airy feel. The design also included the incorporation of an automobile stacker that would have a large elevator lift to get the cars on to the display. Although the final budget could not afford the unique feature much effort was spent working out the possibilities.

Construction of the smartCenter was completed in January 2008, and is the first smartCar dealership in Kansas City.